Yesterday evening the UPS truck arrived as I was closing up shop and left a box on our shipping dock.  I thought it was kind of hilarious that they used such a big box for this one little bar of metal.  This is all there was in there: no packing, but I guess packing wasn't really needed.

This is the "part" I've been waiting for so I could fix the surface planer.

This morning I cut off  piece of this bar (machine key stock is the official name for it), filed the ends smooth and slightly rounded, and reassembled the big planer.  One of the tools  I needed for this was something we had to buy special: these Monster Channel Lock Pliers.

Once it was all back together I fired it up and it sounds fine again.  Now we should be all set to get started on Gary's cradle.  But for now I tuck it back over in it's corner, I still have some things to take care of first.

I set up the finishing room, don my protective gear, and get started shooting lacquer on the first of the wall hung stopper racks I've been building.

I look like something out of Star Wars, don't I?

I'll give the rack two coats, scuff sand it and give it a third.  Then all that's left is to attach the hangers and it'll get boxed up and be ready to ship.

 In between lacquer shoots I locate the template set I'll need for the Heritage Cradle I'll build for Gary.

I check the included notes to see how many board feet of lumber I'll need to pull.

 Then I'm off to the lumber shed and my stack of Ash lumber.  Or ash pile!

The first couple of layers I pulled were pretty wormy and split, and I was worried for a bit, but then I remembered that this was the first time I've gotten into this pile. When I stack a new shipment of lumber I always toss aside the really rough stuff so it doesn't get counted in the bill I pay to Tommy.  But he has no use for the scrap, so I put that on top pf the pile as added weight to help keep the lumber straight and flat as it dries.  I also add concrete blocks.  Now that it's three years dry I won't need that added weight, so I can cut up the scrappy stuff for firewood.

I bring in the scrappy stuff and enough good stock to build the cradle and stack it all on the floor where I can get at it easily.

It's a very nice day today, but it may well rain the rest of the week.  Having all the lumber I'll need in here will make things more pleasant.

The ash is the white stuff in front, the walnut is for our entertainment center that I've been working on in my "spare" time for the past 3 years.  Sigh.  One day I'll have all this floor space clear again.

I'll continue finishing stopper racks for the rest of the day and get started on the cradle tomorrow morning.

Thanks for watching!